Aaroniero Arruruerie
}} is an Arrancar in Sōsuke Aizen's army and the Noveno (9th) Espada. Appearance Aaroniero's face is usually concealed behind an elongated, white mask covered with eight holes. He dons this while in the light and also while around his fellow Espada, as he has grown weary of questions and offhand remarks regarding his appearance. In place of a normal head, he has a large, cylindrical glass capsule filled with red liquid, with two small Hollow heads suspended within its confines. The two heads are both tattooed with the number 9 and tend to talk in tandem when revealed, giving the effect of two people speaking in turn. The upper head speaks with a deep voice, while the other speaks in a high-pitched, childlike voice. Each head appears to have its own level of individuality. His outfit, like that of most Espada, is customized: he wears a dress garb that covers his entire body as opposed to the normal jacket and hakama. He also wears a frilly nobles' coat that acts as his replacement jacket and a single white gentleman's glove. The remains of his Hollow mask are on both of his heads, the upper head having three-quarters of itself covered with the mask, and the lower head having only half of itself covered. His Hollow hole is located in the left thigh area.Bleach Official Character Book 3 UNMASKED, page 85 Personality Aaroniero expresses some amount of pride in his ability to "continue evolving" and his position as an Espada, despite his Gillian status. Somewhat cruel and sadistic, Aaroniero enjoys toying with his opponents, particularly those he has information on from his absorbed memories, asking Rukia to kill her comrades to make up for Kaien's death. Interestingly, his two heads have a degree of individuality, since they refer to themselves in plural when exposed, and each reacted differently to the idea of death (the bottom head panicked and screamed for Aizen's aid while the top one merely cursed Rukia). History Aaroniero was a Gillian, the weakest class of Menos, before becoming an Arrancar,Bleach manga; Chapter 267, page 7 and the last of the first-generation Espada.Bleach manga; Chapter 297, page 11 At some point in the past, Aaroniero gained the powers of former Shinigami Lieutenant Kaien Shiba by absorbing Metastacia, the Hollow who killed and fused with Kaien. By doing this, Aaroniero was able to gain not only Metastacia's power to fuse with others, but Kaien Shiba's powers and abilities as well as his Zanpakutō.Bleach manga; Chapter 267, pages 8 -10 Plot Arrancar arc Aaroniero is present when Sōsuke Aizen is creating Wonderweiss Margela. He only stands and watches, with the upper half of his body covered in shadow, without his mask.Bleach manga; Chapter 229, page 13 Hueco Mundo arc He puts his mask on when the Espada are gathered by Aizen about Ichigo Kurosaki, Yasutora Sado, and Uryū Ishida entering Hueco Mundo to save Orihime Inoue. He sits between Tier Harribel and Yammy Llargo and complains about the intruders, along with Baraggan Louisenbairn, Szayelaporro Granz, Yammy and Nnoitra Gilga.Bleach manga; Chapter 244, pages 15-16''Bleach'' manga; Chapter 245, page 6 Rukia Kuchiki encounters Aaroniero on the bridge outside his palace. He leads her inside the dark tower and explains that he cannot stand sunlight. He takes off his mask while introducing himself as the 9th Espada Aaroniero Arruruerie, who, upon removing his mask, is immediately recognized by Rukia as Kaien Shiba.Bleach manga; Chapter 262, pages 17-20''Bleach'' manga; Chapter 263, pages 2-3 Rukia is confused by the sight of her deceased mentor. Aaroniero pulls out a cushion and tells her to sit, as they have much to discuss.Bleach manga; Chapter 263, pages 12-15 Aaroniero then explains to her that the night he was possessed, his spirit began to crumble after the battle and by the time she had brought his lifeless body back to the Shiba house, it had completely shattered, and from there it was thrown into Hueco Mundo. He explains that the Hollow he fought was one of Aizen's experiments and that every time it was destroyed, it would come back to Hueco Mundo and regenerate. However, since the Hollow had fused with him, the regeneration restored his body, but instead of the Hollow being in control, he was. At first, Rukia has a hard time believing such a thing, but Aaroniero assures her that he is serious. He then explains that as he ended up taking control of his body again, he went on to become an Espada to aid in his revenge against Aizen. Aaroniero states that the blue sky outside is the dome of Las Noches created by Aizen and that the light of the blue sky allows Aizen to see anywhere he wishes.Bleach manga; Chapter 263, pages 16-18 He then tells her there is a mission of great importance that only she can carry out and they will talk further in a different location. He then takes out his Zanpakutō and attacks her.Bleach manga; Chapter 263, pages 18-20 Rukia becomes confused and listens to him speak so coldly about her involvement in his death, and resigns herself to be a just sacrifice for what she did to him and willingly offers her life to him. But she relents and states that she has come there to save Orihime and that until she does, she cannot give her life to him.Bleach manga; Chapter 264, pages 4-10 He tells her that he was only joking, but there is something only she can do for him if she is to truly sorry for what she did. He asks her to kill her friends, and Rukia quickly realizes something is wrong and that he cannot be who he claims to be, as Kaien would never ask her to do such a thing. She releases her Zanpakutō, Sode no Shirayuki and begins to attack him.Bleach manga; Chapter 264, pages 11-19 The two engage in battle for a brief period, with Aaroniero goading her with his knowledge of her fighting style. He then releases Kaien's Zanpakutō, Nejibana and begins to relentlessly attack Rukia.Bleach manga; Chapter 265, page 16-20''Bleach'' manga; Chapter 266, pages 2-10 As such, Aaroniero uses Kaien's Zanpakutō to easily overpower her in the course of their battle. Rukia eventually concludes that everything Aaroniero said was a lie and notices him running from the sunlight when a wall is damaged. She uses a Kidō combination to restrain him and then blows a hole in the wall, forcing him to remain in the sunlight; thus revealing Aaroniero's true face - a cylinder filled with liquid containing two small, floating heads inside.Bleach manga; Chapter 266, pages 11-19 killing Aaroniero.]] Aaroniero then reveals that had she used her Kidō to attack him directly, she might have actually hurt him. Rukia claims that now that she knows that he is not Kaien, she will not have to hold back anymore. Aaroniero questions if she thinks that holding back is really what kept her from actually harming him. He then explains that although he can't use his powers in sunlight, all he needs is the shadows and he can use it again as many times as he wants, as he resumes Kaien's form. He then comments on the annoyance of the sun under the dome of Las Noches as his powers only work in the darkness. Aaroniero then corrects her previous assumption that his power was transformation, as he is the only Gillian-class Menos Hollow out of all the Espada. In general, no Gillian would be powerful enough to join the ranks of the Espada. Yet he is an Espada because he is the only Arrancar in existence that has limitless potential for evolution. He reveals that his original story about what happened after Kaien's spirit died was partially true. In fact, Aaroniero consumed the Hollow Metastacia and absorbed its ability. It was through eating that Hollow and gaining its abilities that he gained access to Kaien's body. He then reveals his Zanpakutō, Glotonería, as he explains that he, in fact, is using the spirit body of Kaien Shiba and all his experiences and memories are still intact. Aaroniero was using them to impersonate Kaien and manipulate Rukia in turn. Rukia noticeably gives up her will to fight upon seeing his form and realizing the ramifications of his words. Aaroniero releases his Zanpakutō and impales Rukia on the end of Nejibana.Bleach manga; Chapter 267, pages 1-19 Aaroniero notices that Rukia is still conscious and states the it is admirable that she fights for survival, but it is pointless as she can never strike him down. Rukia grabs Nejibana and states that she just remembered as she lifts her sword to his face. Aaroniero makes fun of her asking if she remembered how to pretend to fight with a broken sword. Rukia then reveals her ' San no mai, Shirafune' technique, which impales Aaroniero through his head.Bleach manga; Chapter 268, pages 16-19 The bottom face dies, screaming in agony while feeling betrayed by Aizen's promise that he would never be in pain again, while the top face curses one last time before splitting in half.Bleach manga; Chapter 269, pages 3-4 Powers & Abilities Expert Swordsman: By absorbing Kaien Shiba (albeit indirectly), Aaroniero was a highly skilled swordsman fighting Rukia based on Kaien's memories. He uses Kaien's techniques and form during the battle, and are described by Rukia as "His upper-body stance. Spear technique reminiscent of a dance, using one wrist as the center of its rotation. Then crushing the opponent between the spear's thrust and the rising waves". Keen Strategist: Aaroniero has proven to be rather cunning in his efforts to dispatch Rukia, using his shape-shifting ability to try to deceive and sneak attack her.Bleach manga; Chapter 263, pages 18-20 Then going as far as to try and manipulate her, first into killing herself as penance for killing him, and then trying to get her to kill her friends.Bleach manga; Chapter 264, pages 8-13 Throughout the whole fight, even after releasing, he used the psychological edge of having her fight against her former mentor, effectively hindering her performance. Sonído Expert: After Rukia's Kidō spells wore off, Aaroniero used Sonído to appear behind Rukia almost instantly, surprising her.Bleach manga; Chapter 267, page 5 : Aaroniero has the ability to broadcast information of whatever he is currently seeing or experiencing to all of his comrades instantaneously, which he does prior to his death at the hands of Rukia.Bleach manga; Chapter 270, pages 4-5 Great Spiritual Power: Having absorbed thousands of Hollows and indirectly absorbing the fairly powerful Shinigami Kaien Shiba, Aaroniero has accumulated a rather large amount of spiritual energy. He has enough spiritual power to mimic the levels possessed by Kaien Shiba, going as far as being able to use Kaien's Zanpakutō with presumably the exact amount of spiritual energy required to wield and use its abilities. Zanpakutō : Aaroniero's Zanpakutō takes the form of a deformed, brown-tentacled appendage with a gaping maw at the center, surrounded by various tentacles. He commonly hides it under the glove on his left hand.Bleach manga; Chapter 267, page 9 *'Resurrección': It is activated by the command . When released, it turns Aaroniero's lower body into a huge, purple blob-like mass resembling an incredibly bloated invertebrate, with dozens of stubby tentacles and large mouths complete with teeth.Bleach manga; chapter 267, pages 12-13 :Resurrección Special Ability: :*'Hollow Absorption': While all Hollows can cannibalize each other to gain power, Aaroniero has the unique ability to devour a dead Hollow and receive all its abilities and Reiatsu. This ability allows him to evolve without limit, unlike normal Espada. It is also the reason he is the only Gillian-class Espada. Aaroniero has gained the powers of approximately 33,650 unnamed Hollows, Metastacia, and through eating Metastacia, he gained the Shinigami abilities of Kaien Shiba. :*'Aspect Manifestation': While sealed, Glotonería allows Aaroniero to perfectly manifest any aspect of those he has absorbed, including their knowledge, muscle memory (and thus their battle styles), physical form, and powers. He is only shown to be able to manifest the aspects of one individual at a time while in sealed form. While released, Aaroniero can manifest as many of the absorbed powers as he wishes.Bleach manga; Chapter 267, page 14 The weakness of this power is sunlight, which nullifies it on contact and reveals Aaroniero's true form.Bleach manga; Chapter 267, page 18 ::*'Body Melding': Aaroniero is able to merge his spirit body with other beings, including Shinigami. This was originally Metastacia's ability.Bleach manga; Chapter 135, pages 15-18 ::*'Zanpakutō Destruction': When a Shinigami touches a specific set of tentacles on Aaroniero's released form, their Zanpakutō is destroyed. It was originally Metastacia's ability.Bleach manga; Chapter 135, page 9 ::*'Nejibana': Aaroniero is able to use Kaien's Zanpakutō as if he were Kaien. It was originally Kaien's ability, but was absorbed by Metastacia. Appearances in Other Media He appears in the video games Bleach: Heat the Soul 5, Bleach: Heat the Soul 6, Bleach: Heat the Soul 7, and Bleach: Versus Crusade. These games have Aaroniero taking the appearance of Kaien Shiba, plus being able to perform his Resurrección. In the Bleach: Heat the Soul series, his tentacles are a golden color, rather than the dark purple color shown in the anime. In the video game Bleach: Versus Crusade (only in his released form), he can shoot a light-blue Cero from his tentacles. 4th Movie Tie-In In episode 299 and manga one-shot imaginary number 01. the unforgivens, both promotions for Bleach: The Hell Verse, Aaroniero and Szayelaporro fall into Hell together. Szayelaporro says he's surprised to see him and notes the sturdiness of Aaroniero's tank. Aaroniero questions why he brought it up, suggesting that he wished it to crack. Szayelaporro states he meant nothing by it, meaning only that if it had cracked, he could study the liquid inside it. Aaroniero tells him that he's never liked him and moves to attack him with Glotoneria. However, Szayelaporro yells at him to wait, saying that they should work together to figure out where they are. Aaroniero states he doesn't care about that, to which Szayelaporro reminds him of the difference in their ranks. Aaroniero states those ranks don't matter outside of Hueco Mundo.Bleach manga; Chapter imaginary number 1, pages 4-9 .]] A voice interrupts the two. A man is seen standing on a tall rock and informs them that they are in Hell. Aaroniero demands he come down and explain, but the man mocks him and informs them they are both already dead. Aaroniero doesn't understand, but Szayelaporro remembers his death and moves to attack the man. The man introduces himself as Shuren, and says they must follow him in order to survive in Hell. Three more beings appear behind Shuren. Shuren introduces them as Taikon, Gunjō, and Garogai and orders them to attack the two Arrancar. Aaroniero releases his Resurrección and attacks. He tells his enemies not to underestimate the Espada and attacks Taikon. Both Arrancar are defeated and left slumped over some rocks.Bleach manga; Chapter imaginary number 1, pages 9-19 Trivia *Aaroniero's aspect of death is Greed.Bleach manga; Chapter 356, page 14 *Aaroniero's name stems from that of Eero Aarnio, a Finnish interior designer noted for designing plastic and fiberglass chairs.Bleach Official Character Book 2 MASKED; Tite Kubo Interview, page 256 *Aaroniero wears a set of white gloves during the Espada meeting, but wears only a single glove when in his own chambers. *In the Bleach best bout poll Aaroniero's fight with Rukia came in seventh place.Bleach manga; Chapter 392, page 1 *In Episode 299, Aaroniero's Resurrección is colored yellow instead of the previous dark purple. *In the manga and anime, Glotonería is Aaroniero's left hand, but in the special chapter imaginary number 01. the unforgivens, it is his right hand. Quotes *(To Rukia Kuchiki) "Sorry, but I simply can't stand the sunlight, and the sunlight can't make it in here."Bleach manga; Chapter 262, page 18 *(To Rukia Kuchiki) "If it's about our faces, keep it to yourself. We got tired of hearing people's thoughts about them a very long time ago."Bleach manga; Chapter 267, page 1 Battles & Events *Rukia Kuchiki vs. Aaroniero Arruruerie *Enter The Home of Hollows *Invasion of Hueco Mundo *Visored Training References Navigation de:Aaroniero Arruruerie es:Aaroniero Arruruerie Category: Characters Category: Arrancar Category: Espada Category: Male Category:Deceased Category:Expert Swordsmen Category:Sonído Experts